Champions Crowned at Dells Raceway Park9/7/2013
The cars have been tweaked and tuned all season long. Some battle scars still show the wear and tear on the machines. It all came down to the season finale at Dells Raceway Park, Saturday, September 7th.

The Pure Stocks started the feature runs on the night. Chris Weber(97) and Adam Johnson (01) brought this group up to speed. The two front runners see-sawed, for the lead, with Jeff Burrows(29) waiting for someone to make a mistake, as he sat behind the leaders. Weber finally broke away from Johnson. Johnson was left to battle with Burrows for second. Johnson put up a good fight, but succumbed to the Burrows machine. Jeff now set his sights on the Chris Weber. Chris had built up a nice lead as Burrows and Johnson worked on each other. Burrows was giving it everything he had and slowly closed in on the leader. It was Burrows who finally worked around a very stubborn Weber to take the lead. Adam Johnson was having his hands full with quick qualifier Jim Robinson(81), for third, as the laps quickly counted down. At the checkered flag: Jeff Burrows gets the feature trophy. Chris Weber drove a great race to finish second, and Adam "Speedy" Johnson, who made his first trek back this season, completed the top three drivers in the Weaver Auto Parts Victory Lane. The champion crowned for the Pure Stock division was Travis Hancock.

The Bandits took to the track with Dan Bagley(49) and Haley Kapp(32) bringing this group up to speed. The first two laps had three caution flags thrown. Everybody wanted to win on the first turn of the oval. When racing finally resumed, Haley Kapp assumed the lead. Dan Snyder(51) kept close tabs on the leader, as he sat in second. Point"s leader, Steven Rozek, was coming through the pack and maybe a bit too hard, as a nudge here and bump there brought out another caution. Cars scattered as Josh Mazur, Dan Bagley, and Rozek all get twisted together. The Blystone wreckers came out to pull the carnage off the racing surface. Rozek was now out of the race. Could he keep the points lead? Let"s find out. Dan Snyder was in a battle to keep the top spot with Gary Stark(35) chasing him down. Stark spots his chance and shoots by Snyder. Snyder has a very quick Chase Munns(36) closing in. Ali Pennel(29) adds to the mix as she now sits in fourth. At the checkered: Gary Stark gets his first feature win of the season, with Dan Snyder having his best ever finish, second. Chase Munns came across the line for third, but failed the post race inspection, which then went to Ali Pennel. The champion for the 2013 Bandit division was Steven Rozek. Andrew Portzen proved he was the man to beat for the Bandit Challenge Series, as he finished undefeated for the season.

The Sportsman feature was next for the fans. Matt Lundberg(78) and Jeff Nehrkorn(61) had the pole positions. Lundberg wasted no time taking command off this race. Nehrkorn was being challenged by Brandon Birdsill(23) for second place. A caution flag flew when Birdsill and Nehrkorn connected with each other. Cars scatter to avoid the mayhem. The air was starting to cool things down from a very hot day. Lundberg jumped on the gas, as racing resumed, and his machine was enjoying the fresh air as he pulled away from the pack. Gerry Junget(71) quietly weaved his way through the middle of the pack and was now trying to chop down the huge lead that Lundberg had built. Quick qualifier, Dave Trute(21) kept creeping ever closer towards the front as he zigzagged through from the rear of the field. Lundberg looked to be the easy winner, but a never say die Gerry Junget, was moving in for the kill. Gerry finally worked to the back of Lundberg"s Family Truckster, a managed to get by. Dave Trute seemed to appear out of nowhere to now sit on Lundberg"s tail. At the checkered flag: Gerry Junget drives the T-bird to the Weaver Auto Parts Victory Lane. Dave Trute gave it his all to cross the finish line in second and was crowned Champion for the division. Matt Lundberg rounded out the top three drivers.

The Late Model feature capped off the night of Champions with a tight points battle between Rich Schumann Jr. and Nick Nolden. Both drivers had collected feature wins and top five finishes throughout the 2013 season, and they ended up starting side by side for the race Lets find out how they fared. Brian Hakala (42) and Travis Rodewald (27) brought the field to the green flag. The two front runners put up a good fight as drivers behind them could not move until a mistake was made. Hakala finally takes the early lead with Austin Nason(14) next to challenge for the top spot. I don"t think you could squeeze a piece of paper between the two cars as they ran that close. A few caution flags, throughout the race, had slowed the race action, and caused some realignment. Rich Schumann Jr.(55) found himself working around a very determined Brian Hakala for the lead. Brent Edmunds(87) was next to pass by "Hack". Austin Nason and Brian Hakala continued their battle with each other for third, which also blocked the way for Nick Nolden(67). Another caution flag with fewer than five laps to go meant a single file restart. Schumann still held the lead with Brent Edmunds stuck like glue to his bumper. At the drop of the green flag, Nick Nolden made quick work of getting around Nason and Hakala. When the final checkered flag ended the regular season, Rich Schumann Jr. gets the feature win. Brent Edmunds drove a terrific race for second and a very patient Nick Nolden takes third and gets the Late Model championship for 2013. Brian Hakala and Austin Nason round out the top five drivers. The celebrations started as the regular season came to a close. Cars that started out freshly painted, with engines rejuvenated, were now a little more wrinkled and little more worn out. The drivers, like warriors home from the battle, were ready to celebrate their victories. Some of those victories may have been a touch smaller like, beating another competitor for a higher finish. Some of them, huge, like winning a championship. The big winners, are the fans. They witnessed some of the best racing in the Midwest, with the best drivers that kept them right on the edge of their seats, week in and week out.

The track will be making ready for the September Showdown on the 20th and 21st of September. The field will include drivers from around the state that have not won a feature. The divisions will include Late Models, Sportsman, Bandits, with more to be announced. Day two, on the 21st, will be a Twin Feature Night! Gates will open at 4, with qualifying around 5, and racing to start at 7. Now that the point"s races have been settled, it"s time for the dash for cash! For more information go to dellsracewaypark.com and check Facebook.

Rich Schuman Jr. won the 50 lap Late Model Feature Saturday night @ Dells Rackway Park. Jerry Junget was victorious in the Sportsman Feature. Gary Stark won the Bandit Feature, and Jeff Burrows won the Pure Stock A-Main. Nick Nolden was Crowned Late Model Champion, The Team of Dave Trute/Mitch Lyden were the Sportsman Champs, Travis Hancock is champion in the Pure Stocks, Steve Rozek is Bandit Champ & Andrew Portzen was the Bandit Challenge Champion. Rookie of the Year, Late Models Kelsey Schultz, Sportsman Spencer Wilhelm, & Bandit David Treu Jr. . A Big Thank You & to all the fans that came out!